miércoles, octubre 12, 2022
Do you have to be mad to be a soapbox racer?
(A text by Sarah Warwick read at the magazine N by Norwegian issued in July 2017)
Photographer Alan Powdrill, who was taking shots shots at Redbull's Soapbox Race in London, thinks so.
It turns out Darth Vader is pretty handy with a screwdriver. The Dark Lord of the Sith, AKA Simon Fly from Hampshire, is one of the handy amateur mechanics behind the "Soap Speeder" - constructed with the help of mates Alex (Luke Skywalker) and Steve (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and raced with two cardboard droids.
Darth/Simon and his team were also among those captured by quirky portrait specialist Alan Powdrill as part of his series on the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Powdrill captured competitors in the race, which is held biannually at London's Alexandra Palace, before superimposing them on bleak, dystopian London backdrops.
"The Star Wars [kart] is one of my favourites," says the photographer. "I think it's just perfect - all the detail they've gone into. Plus, everybody loves Star Wars."
For Powdrill, who seeks out offbeat subcultures to photograph, these "glorified go-kart" drivers were the perfect subject matter. "I think [soapbox racing] reflects the quintessential British hobbyist spirit of inventing and trying to make things that are as mad as possible."
The hobby entails months spent constructing elaborate vehicles with no engines or brakes, before racing them downhill at speeds of up to 55kph. Although these days the cars are made of metal, or even carbon fibre, rather than actual soapboxes, that doesn't stop them from crumpling during frequent "hairy accidents", and ending up "in a heap at the bottom", as Powdrill reports. "It's strange," he says. "They spend all this time and effort, months making their vehicles and costumes, and then it's all destroyed in 25 seconds."
Since Red Bull started their Soapbox series in 2000, the drinks brand has hosted more than 100 races around the world. Spectators for [2017] event at Alexandra Palace on 9 July [could] expect Pokemon, Toy Story and "Ronald Pump" themed cars.
Darth Vader won't be back, though, and nor will Powdrill - at least not as a competitor. "I would love to try it but I'm too scared to be honest. I admire the passion - but they're pretty bonkers."
redbullsoapboxrace.com
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